Jan Garden Castro Papers (MSS136), 1957-2014 | MSS Manuscripts

Jan Garden Castro (1945-) is an American author, editor, poet, literary and art critic, teacher, and arts activist. Born and raised in Saint Louis, Missouri, and currently residing in New York City, Castro attended Cornell University and the University of Wisconsin at Madison for her undergraduate studies, earning a Bachelor of Arts in 1967. She later earned a Master of Arts in Teaching from Washington University in Saint Louis in 1974, and a Master of Arts in Art History from Washington University in 1994.

Castro's extensive writing career began in 1968, while she was living in San Francisco, with several features published in the Daily Californian and the San Francisco Express Times. Upon returning to Saint Louis around 1970, Castro wrote for several underground newspapers, often under the pseudonym Jasmine or Sunflower, and published poems in local and national literary journals. In 1972 she married Michael Castro in Graham Chapel at Washington University, and with him and several other local poets and artists founded River Styx literary magazine in 1975. Between 1975 and 1987 Castro served as an editor of River Styx, and eventually its Executive Director. She contributed significant material to the journal during this time, including poems, editorial notes, and interviews with Ansel Adams, Margaret Atwood, Allen Ginsberg, and many other well-known artists and writers. The River Styx group also organized many poetry readings and local cultural events, most notably the River Styx PM series at the Saint Louis Art Museum and Missouri Botanical Garden, and the Duff's Poetry Series, held at Duff's restaurant in the Central West End. In 1975 Castro wrote and self-published her first poetry compilation, Mandala of the Five Senses. She also served as a teacher at several local secondary schools and colleges during this period.

In 1985 Castro's first major book was published by Crown Publishers, a biography of George O'Keeffe titled The Art and Life of Georgia O'Keeffe. In 1988 she co-edited a compilation of scholarly essays on Margaret Atwood titled Margaret Atwood, Vision and Forms. During the 1980s Castro also published several poems and book reviews in local and national publications, and taught courses as an adjunct professor at Lindenwood College (now University) in Saint Charles, Missouri. In addition to her publishing and teaching activities, Castro also organized a number of cultural events in the Saint Louis area, including the 1987 Heart of Saint Louis Arts festival, and traveled throughout the country giving lectures on art history and the work of Georgia O'Keeffe.

During the 1990s Castro wrote extensively for the Saint Louis Post-Dispatch and the Riverfront Times, providing these publications with numerous pieces of literary and art criticism. She continued to publish poetry and read her poems at local artistic and cultural events, and otherwise kept up her involvement with local arts activities. Additionally, Castro participated in several continuing education institutes, including the Camargo Institute, the American Academy in Rome, and two National Endowment for the Humanities seminars. In 1996, Castro began writing art exhibit reviews and interviews for Sculpture Magazine, and has since published more than 16 cover stories for the journal. Her involvement with Sculpture continues to the present day, and has included significant interviews with Liza Lou, Richard Serra, Rachel Feinstein, and many other artists. Castro also writes articles for Ceramics: Art and Perception, has written catalog essays for many local and national artists, and also has published fictional works through the online journal The Adirondack Review.

In 2001 Castro guest-curated a retrospective exhibit on Sonia Delaunay in Tokyo, Japan. Delaunay was the subject of Castro's master's thesis, and Castro has done extensive research and writing on the artist. As part of her work for the Delaunay retrospective, Castro organized and wrote the catalog for the exhibit.

During her career Castro has published more than 425 articles, essays, and interviews for a wide variety of publishing outlets. As of March 2014 she continues to publish frequently for several  publications.